In particular, the cutting of thin and/or soft materials, e.g. plastics, by means of a sonotrode to which ultrasound is applied is commonly known. The sonotrodes used therein comprise a blade that oscillates in its longitudinal direction due to the ultrasound. This results in the cutting forces being significantly reduced when compared to a blade that is only moved in the direction of cutting, thereby avoiding unintentionally moving or puckering the material.
Different materials to be cut require sonotrodes of different designs. In some instances this requires exchanging the sonotrodes frequently. According to one approach known to the inventors the sonotrodes are releasably connected to a corresponding machine tool for moving the sonotrodes by means of a mechanical coupling. However, releasing and reconnecting the mechanical coupling is rather time-consuming. Further, such mechanical couplings tend to take up a lot of space.